Note: Baby Glitterlilly is what I'm calling the mystery baby pony that comes with Rainbow Flash. If Hasbro ever releases the official name I'll be sure to update! ;P Also, it might help to know that I don't picture ponies as creatures that age much, so that is why Gingerbread is not old and creaky. And finally - Snowflake and Mittens are winter twins. They started life exactly the same, and then changed and grew apart as they aged. Glitterlilly is not related to them.
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The clear blue sky was so crystalline and vibrant that the frolicking ponies could almost hear gentle notes on the soft breeze like fingertips softly sweeping across fragile glass goblets. Big fat delicious snowflakes danced gently down to tickle pastel fuzzy noses and to make fun-wonderful winter white drifts to jump in. It was one of those days that were so tangibly blissful that it made everyone feel lighter-brighter. So magical and pure that even the unicorns were impressed, but not so much so that they felt at all bad about adding a dash of flavor to the white flakes. Excited ponies danced all over the meadows and skating pond, catching lemon, strawberry, papaya, and even a rare rainbowberry snowflake or two.
Snowflake reveled in skating impossibly fast, trying to catch her namesakes on her tongue. As she skated she shouted out encouragement to anyone that might be listening, including her newest little charge and friend. Skating wobbly to the side was shimmery purple Baby Glitterlilly, taking in the scene with the wide eyes and wobbly legs of the young. She was practically drowning in Snowflake's blue satin hood with white fur trim, but she was so excited that her skating teacher had offered to let her borrow it that she wore it with all the pride of a crown.
"Oh wonderful," Snowflake gracefully slid up to the slowly sinking baby pony and gently nuzzled her gangly legs back under Glitterlilly. "I think you're really a natural!"
Baby Glitterlilly paused to catch her breath and get the large hood off of her eyes. "With all of this snow to catch I don't even think about falling, and then I don't!"
"Oh really? I want you to catch as many snowflakes as you can, we'll see who can catch the most flavors!" And with that Snowflake looked up, mouth wide, keeping one eye on the foal and one on the snow. They skated side by side, Snowflake discreetly averting any bruised baby knees or egos, excitedly calling out flavors and having giggle fits. The older pony wisely called it a day when Glitterlilly gave into temptation and started eating big mouthfuls of snowdrift. Snowflake had done that many times as a foal, and each time it had given her a terrible bellyache.
"Can't we skate for just 5 more minutes?" Baby Glitterlilly asked, only to be rewarded with a stern look. She then asked if she could eat a few more drifts, only to receive another stern look. Glitterlilly was just about to unleash the big pleading doe eyes when Mittens came to the rescue of Snowflake.
"Hello you ungraceful coot! How's the older twin?" Mittens jovially nuzzled her sister Snowflake, then paused to try to rescue the baby from the blue hood, which had slipped passed her little nose. "Do you know what makes atrocious fashion sense better you little squirt? The same thing that makes everything better! Gingerbread's cocoa and spiced cookies!"
"Sweet younger sister, with age comes a true eye for fashion. Please never knit me a scarf, this new one is your most garish yet," Snowflake eyed the brightly colored creation while Baby Glitterlilly bounced around like a little rubber ball, squeaking excitedly about cocoa, "but please do lead the way to Gingerbread's!"
The trio trotted off. The two sisters exchanged banter that seemed mean spirited, but was actually privately hysterical in a way only grown twins could understand. Sometimes the other adults worried that the banter would be detrimental to babies and younger ponies within earshot. However, if the baby currently within earshot noticed the sharp wit it certainly didn't seem to sour her mood. The worst effect seemed to be innocent peels of laughter, which were soon followed by an impressive burst of energy. The little foal had as much fire and vigor as her bright orange, pink, and white mane and tail suggested. Soon the tired sisters resorted to taking turns herding Baby Glitterlilly back into sight.
As the three of them cantered up to the final bend in the path that would take them to Gingerbread's the heady aroma of cocoa made from dark chocolate and fresh cream wafted to their noses. The unicorns had magicked all of the snowflakes in the area to taste like marshmallows, and as soon as Baby Glitterlilly noticed she took off as fast as she could around the bend, unable to wait for cocoa any longer.
"Oh Snowflake, it does smell good! Remember that time I ran away from home in the middle of the night because I thought I smelled cocoa?" Mittens asked as she sped up slightly to try to catch up with Baby Glitterlilly.
"No I did that! I think...sometimes it's hard to keep our memories straight, even when we grew older and stopped looking the same. As Mother said, we do sometimes have one brain between us..." Snowflake swished her tail in thought, then looked around once they had rounded the bend.
The cold air had not affected the wintery twins for the entire season, but as they took in the scene a cold chill ran down the sisters' backs in tandem. It was not the chill air that froze them- it was the realization of what they were seeing. Baby Glitterlilly's hoof prints ran towards a marshmallow drift, but they vanished before reaching it.
"Glitterlilly! Glitterliiiiilly!" Snowflake called, whirling around wildly, "Mittens! Do you think she's already at Gingerbread's?"
"You already know I don't. But I'll run up ahead to check!" Mittens took off, her bright pink tale waving behind her like an emergency flag.
Snowflake called after her sister to send any unicorns out to look for the baby, and to make sure an alarm was raised. She watched her hours younger sibling dwindle on the path, unsure that Mittens had heard her shouts. Her ears flattened and her eyes started to glisten, panic welling up at the twin worries about Glitterlilly and not knowing how to make things better. Obviously Glitterlilly had to be found, but how?
Snowflake followed the young pony's footprints to the snowdrift, then walked around it. No clues. Then she ran over a nearby serenely white grassy knoll wondering if the baby had somehow managed to jump and slip down it. There was no sign of the baby anywhere between the path and the dark frothy woods.
Frustrated and scared the winter blue pony ran around and around the area where Glitterlilly should have been, crying out for her, tears starting to sting her cheeks. The crisp snow crackled under her pounding hooves, and bits of festive flavor choked her fear-riddled throat. Wild thoughts tore unbidden and painfully through Snowflake's frantic mind. Why hadn't she kept a closer eye on her? What if she was lost and injured? How could something like this happen so close to Gingerbread's? Just a few hundred feet more and they would have been sipping cocoa!
"Gingerbread's!" Snowflake stopped short, speaking out loud to try to settle her nerves, "I bet she somehow got to Gingerbread's. She certainly isn't here. Maybe she caught a lift from a pegasus or winked on the back of a unicorn. There's a thousand and one ways for a baby pony to cause mischief in a magical land!"
Snowflake took a deep breath and pushed a wayward lock of lavender hair out of her eyes. "Yes, today is a fine day for unicorns, and they've been out all morning casting flavor wishes on the snow. It's very likely that Glitterlilly couldn't resist an offer to travel with one. I should just go and have a laugh at the joke, after all Mittens is right. Cocoa does make everything ok."
Snowflake breathed deeply, her breath misting out like a good dream, and shook off some of the stress clinging to her glistening coat. She forced a smile, then started to go towards Gingerbread's, convinced that the baby must now be there. Her hoof was raised mid step when she heard it- the alarm.
"NO!"
All of her hopes for finding Glitterlilly laughing safe and sound with a mug of cocoa half finished in her big awkward hooves were crushed with a hammer of sound. There could be no other reason for the alarm, it was too well timed to be a coincidence.
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The clear blue sky was so crystalline and vibrant that the frolicking ponies could almost hear gentle notes on the soft breeze like fingertips softly sweeping across fragile glass goblets. Big fat delicious snowflakes danced gently down to tickle pastel fuzzy noses and to make fun-wonderful winter white drifts to jump in. It was one of those days that were so tangibly blissful that it made everyone feel lighter-brighter. So magical and pure that even the unicorns were impressed, but not so much so that they felt at all bad about adding a dash of flavor to the white flakes. Excited ponies danced all over the meadows and skating pond, catching lemon, strawberry, papaya, and even a rare rainbowberry snowflake or two.
Snowflake reveled in skating impossibly fast, trying to catch her namesakes on her tongue. As she skated she shouted out encouragement to anyone that might be listening, including her newest little charge and friend. Skating wobbly to the side was shimmery purple Baby Glitterlilly, taking in the scene with the wide eyes and wobbly legs of the young. She was practically drowning in Snowflake's blue satin hood with white fur trim, but she was so excited that her skating teacher had offered to let her borrow it that she wore it with all the pride of a crown.
"Oh wonderful," Snowflake gracefully slid up to the slowly sinking baby pony and gently nuzzled her gangly legs back under Glitterlilly. "I think you're really a natural!"
Baby Glitterlilly paused to catch her breath and get the large hood off of her eyes. "With all of this snow to catch I don't even think about falling, and then I don't!"
"Oh really? I want you to catch as many snowflakes as you can, we'll see who can catch the most flavors!" And with that Snowflake looked up, mouth wide, keeping one eye on the foal and one on the snow. They skated side by side, Snowflake discreetly averting any bruised baby knees or egos, excitedly calling out flavors and having giggle fits. The older pony wisely called it a day when Glitterlilly gave into temptation and started eating big mouthfuls of snowdrift. Snowflake had done that many times as a foal, and each time it had given her a terrible bellyache.
"Can't we skate for just 5 more minutes?" Baby Glitterlilly asked, only to be rewarded with a stern look. She then asked if she could eat a few more drifts, only to receive another stern look. Glitterlilly was just about to unleash the big pleading doe eyes when Mittens came to the rescue of Snowflake.
"Hello you ungraceful coot! How's the older twin?" Mittens jovially nuzzled her sister Snowflake, then paused to try to rescue the baby from the blue hood, which had slipped passed her little nose. "Do you know what makes atrocious fashion sense better you little squirt? The same thing that makes everything better! Gingerbread's cocoa and spiced cookies!"
"Sweet younger sister, with age comes a true eye for fashion. Please never knit me a scarf, this new one is your most garish yet," Snowflake eyed the brightly colored creation while Baby Glitterlilly bounced around like a little rubber ball, squeaking excitedly about cocoa, "but please do lead the way to Gingerbread's!"
The trio trotted off. The two sisters exchanged banter that seemed mean spirited, but was actually privately hysterical in a way only grown twins could understand. Sometimes the other adults worried that the banter would be detrimental to babies and younger ponies within earshot. However, if the baby currently within earshot noticed the sharp wit it certainly didn't seem to sour her mood. The worst effect seemed to be innocent peels of laughter, which were soon followed by an impressive burst of energy. The little foal had as much fire and vigor as her bright orange, pink, and white mane and tail suggested. Soon the tired sisters resorted to taking turns herding Baby Glitterlilly back into sight.
As the three of them cantered up to the final bend in the path that would take them to Gingerbread's the heady aroma of cocoa made from dark chocolate and fresh cream wafted to their noses. The unicorns had magicked all of the snowflakes in the area to taste like marshmallows, and as soon as Baby Glitterlilly noticed she took off as fast as she could around the bend, unable to wait for cocoa any longer.
"Oh Snowflake, it does smell good! Remember that time I ran away from home in the middle of the night because I thought I smelled cocoa?" Mittens asked as she sped up slightly to try to catch up with Baby Glitterlilly.
"No I did that! I think...sometimes it's hard to keep our memories straight, even when we grew older and stopped looking the same. As Mother said, we do sometimes have one brain between us..." Snowflake swished her tail in thought, then looked around once they had rounded the bend.
The cold air had not affected the wintery twins for the entire season, but as they took in the scene a cold chill ran down the sisters' backs in tandem. It was not the chill air that froze them- it was the realization of what they were seeing. Baby Glitterlilly's hoof prints ran towards a marshmallow drift, but they vanished before reaching it.
"Glitterlilly! Glitterliiiiilly!" Snowflake called, whirling around wildly, "Mittens! Do you think she's already at Gingerbread's?"
"You already know I don't. But I'll run up ahead to check!" Mittens took off, her bright pink tale waving behind her like an emergency flag.
Snowflake called after her sister to send any unicorns out to look for the baby, and to make sure an alarm was raised. She watched her hours younger sibling dwindle on the path, unsure that Mittens had heard her shouts. Her ears flattened and her eyes started to glisten, panic welling up at the twin worries about Glitterlilly and not knowing how to make things better. Obviously Glitterlilly had to be found, but how?
Snowflake followed the young pony's footprints to the snowdrift, then walked around it. No clues. Then she ran over a nearby serenely white grassy knoll wondering if the baby had somehow managed to jump and slip down it. There was no sign of the baby anywhere between the path and the dark frothy woods.
Frustrated and scared the winter blue pony ran around and around the area where Glitterlilly should have been, crying out for her, tears starting to sting her cheeks. The crisp snow crackled under her pounding hooves, and bits of festive flavor choked her fear-riddled throat. Wild thoughts tore unbidden and painfully through Snowflake's frantic mind. Why hadn't she kept a closer eye on her? What if she was lost and injured? How could something like this happen so close to Gingerbread's? Just a few hundred feet more and they would have been sipping cocoa!
"Gingerbread's!" Snowflake stopped short, speaking out loud to try to settle her nerves, "I bet she somehow got to Gingerbread's. She certainly isn't here. Maybe she caught a lift from a pegasus or winked on the back of a unicorn. There's a thousand and one ways for a baby pony to cause mischief in a magical land!"
Snowflake took a deep breath and pushed a wayward lock of lavender hair out of her eyes. "Yes, today is a fine day for unicorns, and they've been out all morning casting flavor wishes on the snow. It's very likely that Glitterlilly couldn't resist an offer to travel with one. I should just go and have a laugh at the joke, after all Mittens is right. Cocoa does make everything ok."
Snowflake breathed deeply, her breath misting out like a good dream, and shook off some of the stress clinging to her glistening coat. She forced a smile, then started to go towards Gingerbread's, convinced that the baby must now be there. Her hoof was raised mid step when she heard it- the alarm.
"NO!"
All of her hopes for finding Glitterlilly laughing safe and sound with a mug of cocoa half finished in her big awkward hooves were crushed with a hammer of sound. There could be no other reason for the alarm, it was too well timed to be a coincidence.
